It took me an overly long time to finish My Life in Middlemarch, which is not
indicator of how much I liked the book.
I find it impressive when people have not only read difficult classics
but many times, enough to feel a connection to the book. The only classic book that I have read
multiple times is Pride and Prejudice
and I feel the achievement of that has been ruined by the cliché of all the
movies.
I have recently tried to catch up on some of the classics that I
missed during my early years but it is hard when there are so many good current
books released each week. I read Anna Karenina earlier in the year and
enjoyed in immensely but I really was just happy to have finished it and I can
guarantee that it won’t be read again.
Currently Reading:
- The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert
- Dear Mr. Knightly by Katherine Reay
- Dazed by Kim Karr
-
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
- Colonel Roosevelt by Edmund Morris
- The Frangipani Hotel by Violet Kupersmith (received through NetGalley)
- It’s Complicated: the Social Lives of Networked Teens by Danah Boyd (received through NetGalley)
Recent Reviews:
My
Life in Middlemarch by Rebecca Mead
4 stars
This book was not at all what I thought
it would be. It is less about the author’s
experience reading Middlemarch and
more about George Eliot’s experience writing it. Once I adjusted my expectations of the book,
I really enjoyed reading about Eliot and the similarity of her life to her
stories. The book also provides analysis
of Middlemarch which I found
interesting even though I haven’t even opened the classic novel. This is definitely one of those books that take
time to absorb but it is definitely worth it in the end.
Johnstown
Girls by Kathleen George (received through
NetGalley)
4 1/2 stars
Having read David McCullough’s book on
the Johnstown Flood, I had some background on the catastrophe. This novel humanizes the terrible flood by adding
fictional characters with well developed backstories. The result provides a narrative on endurance,
surviving tragedy, family ties and aging.
Four different characters tell the story; two young journalists with a
complicated relationship and two centenarians who survived the Jamestown
Flood. The backdrop is the flood’s centennial
celebration taking place in 1989 (itself a time that seems long past). As the journalists delve into these older
ladies past, it brings up memories and tragedies of a long-lived life. The best parts of this novel are the
meditations on old age and memory. At times
the relationship issues between Nina and Ben seemed superfluous to the story
but overall this is a wonderful novel full of interesting characters and a
fascinating plot. I received this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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